Wire straightening apparatus



Jan. 1'7, 1933. R. c. PIERCE WIRE STRAIGHTENING APPARATUS Filed June 5,1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l QN l@ w Y f .EWI

Jan. 17, 1933. R. c. PIERCE WIRE STRAIGHTENING APPARATUS Filed June 3.1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ....Ilr

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Patented Jan. 17, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE ROBERT C. PIERCE, OFNILES, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T0 NATIONAL-STANDARD COMPANY, 0F NILES,MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION 0F MICHIGAN WIRE STRAIGHTENING APPARATUSApplication led June 3, 1931.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for straighteningwire. In certain cases, for example, in the manufacture of reinforcingelements for tire beads, it is necessary or desirable to remove allbends from the wire to be used.

I have found that the ordinary wire straightener will remove small bendsand kinks in wires, but will not produce a straight wire through asubstantially continuous length. That is, the ordinary wire as receivedfrom the wire manufacturer is straight as this `term is ordinarily used.That is, the wire is free from-small kinks and bends. Such wirehowever,is ordinarily shipped and sold in coils having a diameter of from twelveto twenty-two inches. Wire of the character commonly used in makingreinforcing elements for tire beads is ordinarily of such a characterthat if it is formed into a coil of this diameter, it will be bentbeyond the limit of its elasticity and will retain therefore a bend orcurvature. That is, when this so-called straightened wire or wire, as itis ordinarily received from the manufacturer in coils of this size, isunwound from such a coil, it will not lie substantially straight througha practically continuous length but will tend to retain some of thecurvature that it had in the coil and will, if left free, coil up to acertain extent into a. spiral. Wire with this amount of curvature isundesirable for the use mentioned.

One of the features of my invention is the provision of a wirestraightening apparatus adapted for use on commercial wire that iscalled straight in the ordinary commercial sense, for the purpose ofremoving from such wire practically every trace of bend or vcurvature inthe same, so that the wire, after being straightened by my apparatus,will lie out substantially straight and flat through practically andesired length.

One of the eatures of my invention is the provision in 'connection with,or as a part of, wire straightening apparatus, of a hauloii" drum orWheel having a diameter large enough so that after the wire is pulledthrough the straightening rollers, it will not again be given anotherpermanent curvature Serial No. 541,883.

or bend because of its wraps around the hauloff drum. In order toprevent this undesired curvature or bend which otherwise would be put inthe wire by the haul-off drum, such drum or wheel must have a diametersufliciently large, depending upon the character and 'constituency ofthe wire, so that the wrapping of the wire around the drum will notagain bend it beyond the limit of its elasticity. In other words, thediameter of the haul-.off drum must be sufficiently great, consideringthe characteristic of the wire, so that after the wire is wrapped aroundthe drum and then taken off, it will come off perfectly straight andfree from practically all bends or curvature so that it will lie outpractically flat through substantially any desired length, without anytendency to curve or form itself into a spiral.

Other features and advantages of my invention will appear more fully asI proceed with my specification.

In that form of device embodying the features of my invention shown inthe accompanying drawings Figure l is a View in side elevation; Fig. 2is a top plan view; Fig. 3 is a view on an enlarged scale in sideelevation of the straightening rollers; Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailview of one of the wire straightening rollers; and Fig. 5 is afragmentary view showing the groove in the wire straightening rollers.

As shown in the drawings, l0 indicates a coil of wire as the sameordinarily is shipped or sold by a wire manufacturer. This wire isusually called straight in the commonly accepted use of this term. Thatis, the wire is free from all small kinks or bends. The wire, however,is ordinarily sold in coils having a diameter of substantially twelve totwenty-two inches and when removed from this coil, it is found that longlengths of the wire will not lie absolutely straight but will have atendency to coil or twist up into spiral formation.

The coil of wire l0 is placed upon a rotatable spool or swift 11 fromwhich it is dispensed to the wire straightening apparatus. From thespool 11, the wire may pass over 2 assegna a guide roller 12 and thenceto 'the straightening rollers 13, which will be described more in detailhereinafter.

Numeral 14 indicates a haul-od wheel or drum around which the wire iswrapped. This drum is driven from any suitable source of power andserves to draw the wire through the straightening rollers 13.Ordinarily, one wrap of wire around the drum 14 issui'dcient, but attimes, two, three or more wraps may be required. It is to beparticularly noted that the diameter of the drum 14 is relatively large.The-diameter of this drum must be suiiiciently great so that the wire15, after being wrapped around the same and pulled through thestraightening rollers, will come ofl' of the drum practically straightfor any desired length, as above described. The exact diameter of thedrum 14 will depend upon the particular characteristics of the wirebeing straightened. For example, the material of which the Wire is made,its elasticity, stretchability, and the like, -must be considered. Also,the diameter of the wire will affect the diameter of the drum 14required.

After leaving the haul-o drum 14, the wire 15 may preferably pass over aguide roller 16 and thence to the receiving drum 17. It is to beunderstood that the drum 17 is preferably frictionally driven,permittinr the necessary slip, so that the wire 15 wi be taken up afterit leaves the guide roller 16. 18 may indicate movable guide bars forthe purpose of evenly distributing the wire on the drum 17. Theparticular construction and operation of these guide bars form no partof the present invention.

The straightening rollers themselves are shown more in detail in Fig. 3.For example, these may include two sets of rollers designed to give thewire first a series of alternate opposite bends in a vertical plane andthen in a horizontal plane. The bends given by each set of rollerspreferably decrease progressively in magnitude. Each set of rollersincludes two rows, the rollers in one row being staggered with respectto those in the other.

Since the construction and operation of the two sets of rollers laresubstantially the same, I shall describe in detail but one. rlhe rollersoperating in a vertical plane include the upper row 2O supported on theblock 21 in the lower edge of rollers 22 supported on the block 23. Therollers 2() are staggered with respect to the rollers 22. Theperipheries of the rollers are grooved to receive the wire 15. Inpassing between the rollers 20 and 22, the wire is given a series ofalternate opposite bends in a vertical plane, and the rollers arepreferably adjusted so that these bends decrease progressively inmagnitude.

The rollers designed to give the wire its alternate bends in ahorizontal plane are substantially the same as those just described.These rollers are indicated by 24 and 25.

I have found that in the ordinary wire straightening apparatus,considerable tension or pull is required to draw the wire through thestraightening rollers. I believe that if this tension is suiiicient tostretch the wire slightly, the wire is much more likely to again receivea permanent set or bend as it passes around the haul-olf drum. In otherwords, I am of the opinion that the objectionable permanent set or bendthat is ordinarily found in the so-called commercially straightenedcoiled wire is due either to the fact that the haul-oli' drum has adiameter too small, or to the fact that too much tension is required topull the wire through the strengthening rollers. Possibly both ofthesefactors may contribute in varying degrees. One of the features of myinvention is the provision of ball-bearing straightening rollers whichvery considerably lessen the tension or pull required to draw the wirebetween them. One of these rollers is shown in Fig. 4 on an enlargedscale. As here shown, the periphery 20 which is, in fact, the roller,may represent also the rollers 22, 24 and 25. l This roller 20 is in theform of a ring mounted on balls 26 operating on the internal ring orraceway 27 carried by the supporting shaft or screw 28. In Fig. 5 isshown the V-shaped groove 29 on the rollers in which the wire 15 lies.Bv providing ballbearing rollers as shown, I have found that the pull ortension required to draw the wires between the rollers is sufficientlylow so that no substantial stretch is put in the wire hetween therollers and the haul-off drum 14. 'Ihat is, there is not a suhcientamount of stretch in the wire at this point to cause the wire to takeany permanent set or bend as it is wrapped around the haul-off drum 14.

After the wire leaves the guide roller 12, it passes between twoadditional guide. rollers 12a and 12b which are suitably grooved andprovided with ball-bearings. These rollers are similar to the rollers 20and 22 above described.

It has been found that at times, the socalled commercialwire, as itcomes from the wire manufacturer, has a certain amount of twist in it ora twist is produced in the wire as it is unwound from the spool or swift11. My apparatus serves to remove such twist from the wire.

Another advantage in using the ball-bearing rollers is that thisconstruction revents or lessens heat that otherwise would e transmittedto the wire from the bearings of the rollers.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, itis to be understood that is capable of many modications. Changes,therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in theappended claims, in which it is my intention to claim all noveltyinherent in my invention as broadly as permissible, in View of the priorart.

What I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. Wire straightening apparatus, including: a plurality of ball-bearingmounted rollers adapted to give the wire a series of alternate oppositebends first in one plane and thenv in a plane substantially at rightangles to thefirst; and means for drawing wire between said rollers,said means including a haul-oil' drum around which the wire is wrapped,the diameter of such drum being sufliciently great and the tensionexerted on the wire in pulling the same between said rollers being suchthat the Wire will not receive a permanent set or bend by being wrappedaround said drum.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the ball bearing mountedrollers include an inner ring, an outer rotatable ring having aperipheral wire-straightening groove, and balls mounting said outerrotatable ring on the inner ring.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the ball bearing mountedrollers include an inner ring, an outer rotatable ring having a V-shapedperipheral wire-straightening groove and balls mounting said outerrotatable ring on the inner ring.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this 27th dayof May, 1931.

ROBERT C. PIERCE.

